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Types of Cancer > Melanoma > Treatment Options
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| How Primary Melanoma is Treated |
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Once a patient has been diagnosed with melanoma, a course of treatment will be planned. There are a number of options available for treating primary melanoma tumors, including simple excision, re-excision, Mohs surgery, and amputation. Exactly which method will be used to treat a primary tumor will be determined by how large the tumor is and what stage the melanoma is in.
Simple excision is generally the treatment course of choice when a melanoma tumor is still relatively thin. During a simple excision, the tumor is cut out of the skin along with some of the surrounding non-cancerous tissue. While the procedure is similar to an excisional biopsy, the amount of non-cancerous skin removed with a simple excision is greater than the amount removed with an excisional biopsy. Once the cancer has been removed, the remaining skin around the wound is sewn back together. The procedure does leave a scar, the size of which will depend on the size of the tumor that was removed.
If diagnosis of the melanoma was made by biopsy, a re-excision will need to be performed. This means that the surgeon will need to go back to the area of the skin where the biopsy sample was surgically removed from and will then remove a larger section of skin. Exactly how much skin is removed during this procedure will depend on exactly how thick the tumor was.
If melanoma has developed on the face, Mohs surgery may be performed instead of the traditional excision methods of melanoma removal. During this procedure, a thin layer of tissue is removed and studied for signs of melanoma cancer. Each time cancerous cells are found in the sample, the procedure is repeated. This process repeats itself until a layer of skin is taken that is free from all signs of cancer.
In some rare cases, the treatment of melanoma may involve amputation. This usually occurs when the melanoma appears on the fingers or the toes. When necessary, the afflicted digit will be surgically removed. While this is not a common procedure, it is required in certain circumstances.
In addition to surgery, radiation therapy may also be used to treat melanoma. This procedure involves directing high-energy rays at the tumor to kill the cancerous cells. This treatment is generally used when the melanoma cannot be treated with surgery. Radiation therapy is also often used on cases of melanoma that have recurred.
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| Author: | Robert Dale, Certified Medical Writer |
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| Reviewer: | Jiade Jay Lu, M.D.
Diplomate, American Board of Radiology (Radiation Oncology) |
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| Publish Date: November 6, 2004 |
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